F16v4, Build 27 Player issues

[schbrownie]

Hello everyone,

I've got an F16v4, build 27, configuration = 16 local ports and Controller mode = Master.  It is having a couple of weird issues with the player.  I've currently got a pre-Christmas Playlist running - just a 30 second sequence (no music) which scrolls RGB colors along my rooflines.  I've noticed a couple of issues:

1. Lights still on in the morning
Whatever the lights were doing during the last millisecond when they were scheduled to turn off, that's the condition the lights remained in until the morning.  I resolved this issue by adding a 25ms blank space (all lights off) in my XLights sequence and then re-uploaded it.  Now the lights are off in the morning.  But then a new problem occurred:

2.  Schedule not running on 2nd day
On the second night (so long as there wasn't a power cycle of the controller), the scheduled show will not start.  After thinking about it for a bit... maybe problem 1 is still happening - but since the show is ending with all lights off, it stays that way and doesn't start the show the next day.  

Any thoughts?

---------------------------

• My date and time are set correctly.
• I'm using time.google.com as the NTP server.
• I only have one schedule set with a priority of 5
• The start/end date are 10/30/23 and 12/31/23 - so that shouldn't be the issue
• the start/end time are 5:00PM and 11:00PM - so that shouldn't be an issue.  
• the 'Repeat' box is checked.
• the proper playlist is selected
• on the Status page, if I reset the schedule, it works properly (for a period of time).  
• If I hit 'Stop' mid sequence.  The status page shows "idle" for Playlist, FSEQ and Audio playing; however, all the lights on the house remain in their last condition (so the lights are ON).  

[MikeKrebs]

Probably don't want to hear it, you might just need to use a player outside of the F16. Too many posts on the forums about problems trying to run F16 as the player. BTW, your setup looks pretty good.

[jnealand]

I have not tried to use any controller as a player and I have read so many posts with issues on this I doubt I will ever try it.  I can tell you that the implementation of FPP on the controller is not a full implementation of FPP due to hardware limitations of adding this type of functionality to something it was not designed for.  I have a Pi connected to every F16 I own and have no issues beyond my own stupidity.  I'm running 12 FPP remotes and have used FPP since it first became available.

[JonD]

I run 40,000 channels from a single FPP player sending to 17 Falcon controllers.  Very little to go wrong.  Works fine.  If you are trying to run the display from your congested home network, or running 200,000 channels... multi-sync makes sense.  Multi-sync for a smaller network is typically unnecessary.

[schbrownie]

Thank you everyone for your input so far.  Here's my issue/concern with the root cause/solution proposed.

This is my 3rd or 4th year in this hobby and my first year at a new home.  The last couple of years, I ran a setup with an F16_v4 with an add-on board.  The primary board controlled a mega tree (200 pixels per output) and then I had about 10 channels used on the secondary board for a tree topping star, presents, stars, candy canes arches and mini-trees.  I had multiple songs/sequences programmed for about a 28 minute show and it restarted every 30 minutes and ran with very few issues during the holiday season.

Fast forward to this year and a new home... I have a different F16v4 which is only controlling 5 ports of about 200-500 pixels per port.  Far fewer than what was running in the past.  In addition, this is only a 30 second sequence with no music which just loops.  

I'm not sure why the much more complicated show worked with almost no issue, but the simple program has issues every day.  

Could it be a firmware (Build 27) or hardware issue with this new board?

[JonD]

The v4 multi-sync and standalone features have had a lot of issues recently.  I don't think there are a lot of people using either feature, and they do not get a lot of love.  I have downgraded 4v firmware in the past, and you might be able to downgrade to an older version if it was working in the past.  Not many standalone users on the forum that I am aware of.  A $40.00 pi running FPP has more options and is much easier to use.   You will probably need to reach out to Falcon support and work with Keith on a solution if you would like to continue to run as a standalone device.